LONDON: Almost eight in 10 Saudis who reside in the Kingdom agree with the decision to allow women to drive, with the majority of females saying they plan to apply for a license, an Arab News/YouGov poll has found.
The wide-ranging poll of more than 500 adults revealed the models of car favored among Saudi women and found that most think driving will “transform” their lives.
King Salman last month issued a decree that will allow women to get behind the wheel by June next year. The current “ban” is considered a social issue in the Kingdom, as there is no actual law or religious edict that prohibits women driving.
The Arab News/YouGov poll, which was conducted in early October, found that 95 percent of Saudis are aware of the decision to allow women to drive, with a generally positive reaction to the move. The sample was representative of the online adult Saudi population in terms of age and gender.
A total of 77 percent of Saudis polled said they agree with the decision to allow women to drive — although the move was more popular with women than men. Seven in 10 males agree that women should have the right to drive, compared with 82 percent of females.
Freedom of movement for women and the belief that driving “is a basic human right” were the top reasons cited by those in agreement with the decision to lift the driving ban.
But among those who disagreed with the move, 54 percent believe “it is not safe for women to drive,” while 36 percent said “it is against local cultural traditions.”
When asked about the impact of women driving, mainly economic factors were cited by the Saudi men and women polled.
Four in 10 said the move would help boost the economy, while 35 percent said it would allow more women to work.
The poll illustrates how the decision will have a huge impact on society, with two-thirds of women questioned saying that it will significantly “transform” their lives, and half saying it will allow them to get to work more easily.
Faisal J. Abbas, editor in chief of Arab News, said that the poll reveals the true significance of the “historic” decision for Saudi society.
“Lifting the driving ban is the latest step in a raft of reforms underway in the Kingdom, both social and economic. But this change will, arguably, have the biggest positive impact on the day-to-day lives of citizens,” said Abbas.
“One of the most revealing findings of the Arab News/YouGov survey was that most women who plan to get behind the wheel will do so in order to get to work.
“That will see more of the Kingdom’s highly educated women finding fulfilling employment, boosting household incomes, and helping to meet Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic aim of shaking its ‘addiction’ to oil.”
The automotive industry can also expect a massive financial boost from the move to allow women to drive, with 85 percent of Saudi women who plan to drive saying they will buy a car, the poll revealed.
Budget models are favored, with 44 percent saying they expect to spend just SR40,000 ($10,666) or less on a motor.
Medium-sized sedans are the most favored among Saudi women, with Toyota, BMW and Jeep named among the top brands, the poll found.
The top car colors chosen were black (29 percent) and pearl white (12 percent) with the least popular being pink, grey and brown.

LONDON: Most Saudi women want to hit the road — and aim to start driving as quickly as possible.
An Arab News/YouGov poll of 503 KSA nationals found that 65 percent of Saudi women plan to apply for a license, three-fifths of whom want to do so as soon as the driving ban is lifted next year.
Close to a quarter of Saudi women have driven a car in another country, with 43 percent in possession of a license obtained outside KSA, the poll found.
Despite the eagerness for Saudi women to hit the road, analysts expect there to be some lag given the licensing requirements.
“It could potentially take a while for women to get the necessary driving lessons and go through the bureaucratic hurdles of getting a license in order to actually start driving,” said Tom Rogers, an economist at Oxford Economics specializing in Saudi Arabia.
Others pointed to the cultural adjustment as Saudi society incorporates the idea of women behind the wheel.
“The implementation of these things takes time. It’s not just a matter of issuing driving licenses,” said Crispin Hawes, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa at Teneo Intelligence, a global advisory firm.
“The government decision is the easy part. Implementation, particularly on an issue that has been sensitive, may take much longer.”
A report by Frost & Sullivan estimated that up to 90,000 to 150,000 women would get driving licenses in Saudi Arabia annually — currently up to 400,000 are issued to men — and anticipated an initial surge in the numbers as women rush to pass the test.
The report also predicted an improvement in road safety across the Kingdom as a result of the decree, due to women replacing taxi drivers and sharing driving responsibilities with other family members.
The ban on issuing women driving licenses will be officially lifted in June 2018, allowing a nine-month period to iron-out issues that remain, such as whether male driving instructors will be able to teach female pupils.

LONDON: A boom in sales of budget motors is forecast in KSA, according to an Arab News/YouGov poll that revealed 85 percent of Saudi women who intend to drive say they will buy a car.
One finding of the poll, which was conducted in early October, was that 65 percent of Saudi women plan to get a driving license once the driving ban is lifted next year. Small, cheap sedans are the vehicles of choice.
With the female population of the Kingdom estimated at 14 million — with 6.5 million of those in the target age range of 20-49 — a lot of cars are set to fly off the forecourts.
That would be a boon for the flagging Saudi car market, which has seen sales of new vehicles decline from 685,000 in 2015 to a forecast 530,000 this year.
The Arab News/YouGov poll of more than 500 Saudis suggests that millions of women will look to buy a car — although cheaper makes proved most popular. Of the female respondents who intend to buy a car, 44 percent said their expected budget was just SR40,000 ($10,666) or less.
Medium-sized sedans were named as the top models, with Toyota, BMW and Jeep chosen as the most popular brands among Saudi women, the poll revealed. Black and pearl white cars are the favorites, the respondents said.
Analysts agreed that vehicle sales are set to rise in Saudi Arabia — but said the jump might be more modest than the poll suggests.
“Saudi families are big, 5.6 people per household, and most already have more than one car. So while 85 percent say they plan to purchase a new car I think in reality the figure will be much less,” Emmanuel Darku, Middle East and Africa analyst for IHS Markit, told Arab News.
David Oakley, an analyst at LMC Automotive, estimated that car sales in Saudi Arabia will see a jump of 15-20 percent next year, thanks to the lifting of the ban.
“(LMC’s) initial estimate of the impact of the lifting of the ban on female drivers was for a 15-20 percent increase in sales per year until the mid-2020s,” Oakley said.
“This would bring the Saudi market into line with the UAE, which is culturally and economically somewhat similar to Saudi Arabia, but does allow women to drive.”
While the number of women saying they intend to buy a car surprised the analysts, the preferences regarding the types of car did not. While the Gulf may be synonymous with big SUVs, experts said Saudi women’s preference for smaller vehicles makes sense.
“I’m not at all surprised women would want to swap out the large SUV for something more fun to drive,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst for Cox Automotive in the US.
“Small to medium sedans are easier to maneuver, park, and manage overall, and reflect preferences seen in other parts of the world.
“I can also imagine women are thinking of zipping around in traffic and expressing their personalities. That can be done better in a fun, sporty sedan than in an SUV.”
Indeed, Saudi women’s preference for smaller vehicles would simply mirror the fashion around the world.
“The trend worldwide is women buying smaller cars, or smaller SUV models such as the Hyundai Creta,” Darku said.
“In that way women in Saudi Arabia are no different to their counterparts in Europe or Asia, they go for smaller cars and I expect Saudi women to as well.”
On top of that the small budgets revealed in the poll suggest Saudi women will seek to buy smaller vehicles rather than large gas-guzzlers.
“Given the budget restrictions that the survey has highlighted, the simple fact is that new SUVs may not be affordable for a large number of women,” Oakley said.
“One example of a car that could do well would be the Renault Symbol, which starts at SR39,900. Apart from the price, the Symbol also fits within the small sedan segment which the survey respondents indicated they preferred.
“A Toyota Corolla, one of the most popular cars in the country, starts at SR61,000, and a Hyundai Elantra, also extremely popular, costs upwards of SR59,000, placing them out of the reach of many buyers.”

LONDON: Saudi society supports a recent decision to lift the long-standing ban on granting women driving licenses, with 77 percent of participants in favor of the decision, according to a recent Arab News/YouGov poll.
The survey of more than 500 Saudis residing in the Kingdom showed 82 percent of women and 71 percent of men were behind the decision.
Commentators said that the move to lift the driving ban — one of many social and economic reforms underway in Saudi Arabia — shows the Kingdom is modernizing, but in a way that does not abandon its traditions.
“Conservatives saw the ban on driving for women as a way to resist progressive policies. To them, reversal of the policy would mean a bow to Westernization,” said Ola Salem of the Arabia Foundation.
“Saudi Arabia is nonetheless making it clear that the direction of change is toward an embrace of modernization without abandoning traditions and customs the country holds dear.”
Senior Saudi religious figures were among those voicing their support in the aftermath of the announcement, including the commission of top Islamic clerics, which tweeted, “May God bless the king who looks out for the interest of his people and his country in accordance with Shariah law.”
Sheikh Khaled Al-Mosleh, a professor of religion in Saudi Arabia, also tweeted: “Women driving is not against Shariah and women will choose what best suits them.”
More freedom of movement and easier access to employment for women were among the main reasons cited in the poll for supporting the decree, which will come into effect by June.
Many participants felt that driving is a basic human right, while some said it would help to ensure more equality in society.
“Lifting the ban on driving will have a big impact on women’s lives here and it’s about time,” said Maha Akeel, a Saudi writer.
Salem pointed to a series of “monumental changes” in Saudi Arabia this year, particularly in promoting women’s rights.
“From the introduction of physical education in government schools to reviewing the country’s guardianship law, to allowing women into stadiums to celebrate national day, these changes show that women are a priority in the country today,” she said.
Boosting the economy was another reason cited for supporting the move, seen by some as a major step in a series of far-reaching reforms being ushered in under the banner of Vision 2030.
Part of the plan is to harness the capacity of women to help drive a modernized Saudi economy, with an initial aim to increase female participation in the workforce to 30 percent.
“Lifting the ban on women driving is part and parcel of Vision 2030, which is all about building sustainable economic and social structures that are uplifting for all,” said John Sfakianakis, director of economic research at the Gulf Research Center in Riyadh.
The benefits are likely to resonate through all aspects of life in the Kingdom, where traditionally male family members have had to set aside time for driving-related errands or allocate income to pay for a driver.
Lifting the driving ban allows women to take on a more equal distribution of tasks, freeing up time and resources to use for other purposes like retail and entertainment, said Hala Kudwah, financial services consulting leader at PwC in Saudi Arabia.
“There’s this productivity black hole where male members of the family take time off work to collect kids from schools, respond to emergencies, pick up the groceries etc. When women are able to drive it will increase the efficiency of the system.”
“Planning transport logistics can be quite demanding, particularly if your husband is busy or there are no men available to drive,” she added.
Despite the advantages, 23 percent of participants in the poll expressed their discomfort with the decree, with many claiming that women driving is unsafe and flies in the face of local cultural traditions. Other factors included concerns that it will create too much freedom in society as well as a belief that women should be accompanied by a male relative in public, while some said women driving violates religious teachings.
The announcement that the ban on women driving would be lifted generated a huge response on social media, with many expressing their congratulations.
The Arab News/YouGov poll found that 98 percent of women and 92 percent of men said they were aware of the decision, with 27 percent of women and 13 percent of men saying they felt happy or ecstatic at the news.

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